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THE SOVEREIGNTY IN BABYLON-5
'ADJUSTMENTS and ADAPTATIONS' 'OVERVIEW' There's no reason for the Sovereignty not to exist and many for it to have escaped notice in the Babylon-5 universe. I've always based the Sovereignty a good thirty-thousand light years away from Earth, or farther, so there's a lot of space between the regions where Babylon-5 takes place and where The Sovereignty holds sway. The technology the Selinians have does need to be re-done, to better fit into the universe. Some can mostly be left as-is, but some of it is 'off-scale' for the situations envisioned. The size of a BattleCarrier presents no problems as it's actually smaller than many vessels considered Canon. On average not a lot smaller, but enough to fit nicely into things. Selinian fighters, the DeathWing-class, are considerably larger than those seen in B-5, closer in size to present-day real-world fighters. Selinians do have advanced Gravitational technologies, albeit operating on principles different from and more advanced than Minbari. Their engine systems also operate in like manner...semi-familiar but quite different. Selinian ship combat is also considerably different than what the majority of races in B-5 do regarding such, involving different weapons and tactics such as flak barriers and Electromagnetic Area Effect Weapons. Selinian personal weapons don't present much of a problem, although they would of course be considerably more advanced in some cases (like PPGs) and simply different but relatable in others (Battle Lance). 'SELINIANS' Closely resembling Humans at a cursory glance, the differences are readily apparent without much inspection. Selinians are taller than Humans on average with males averaging a height of 6'6 and females 6'1. While they have five fingered hands, the fingers are much longer than a Human's with the end segments of each finger and thumb being the longest of the fingerbones as the end of each finger houses a three-inch long, razor-sharp, naturally diamond-laminated edged talon that extends from under the fingernail. The ears of a Selinian are definitively non-Human 'SELINIAN HOMEWORLD ''-' Starside-Rainstone Cradle of Origins''' Also referred to incorrectly as Selinia-Prime, as the Selinian name is unpronouncable by most other races, the homeworld of Selinianity is a lush world with seventy-two percent of it's surface covered in water and oceans with a Nitrogen/Oxygen atmosphere with a higher than average amount of CO2 that is quite normal and a gravity of an average of 1.17 G. The ecosystem is unusual in that both Dextro and Levo amino acid based lifeforms coexist in the same environments and compete in certain areas. About as tectonically active as earth, it is a much larger world (just over half-again Earth's size) possessing a lower concentration of heavy metals in it's core. Seasonal axial tilt is extreme, and seasonal shifts bring some of the worst extremes of weather ever recorded on an inhabited world. The terrain is much like Earth's, but with more mountainous areas, rainforests, tundra and only two small notable deserts. Average daytime summer temperature at the equator is fifty degrees Celsius and average winter equatorial daytime temperature is fifteen degrees Celsius. The south pole is home to the largest land mass on the planet with glacial sheets miles thick and extensive mountainous regions. It has one moon, similar to Earh's, but larger and possessing a large gouge on the darkside. The homeworld is absolutely off-limits to non-Selinians, and no exceptions are made. Space traffic allows only vessels in the system that have no non-Selinians aboard. The System Detection/Defense Network extends out to the heliopause, and is supported by military bases spread throughout the system as well as the Homeworld Defense Fleet. The Selinian Homeworld has never been successfully attacked and the only alien visitors have been the Vorlons and The Walkers of Sigma 957, even the Vorlons had to negotiate passage to the Homeworld. The Shadows made a few efforts at attacking in the past, and discovered that the Defense Network was quite capable in ensuring the Homeworld was left alone by their unwanted presence. The Homeworld's ecosystem supports an amazing level of biodiversity and some of the most frighteningly dangerous Apex predators known to exist anywhere. The top of the ecosystem pyramid, including even Selinians, is the Ghost Cat'' (''Yhss' Lharrha). This feline-like Apex predator is the size of a very large Earth Tiger and possesses a keen intelligence that is superior to the lower primates of Earth which lends much to the theory that they are on their way to becoming a Sentient species in the distant future. 'SELINIAN GENDER RELATIONS' In Selinian society and culture females are protected, treasured, and have their own status in the world. In the Early Times, the males were hard-pressed simply hunting for food and keeping predators at bay. Women were the ones who benefitted from this protection and developed written language, more complex vocal language, better construction techniques and raised children while the males did their best to ensure they were left unmolested by some of the most ferocious and dangerous Apex predators in the galaxy, such as the Yhss' Lharrha (Translated: Ghost Cat). Households are a group of seven to nine wives and one male on average. This is largely due to the gender ratio which is seven females per male generally. Families tend to be large, and multi-generational, often with nine Generations living in a single although large and complexly expanded home. One reason for large families is the massive mortality rate among those reaching fourteen years of age which sees thirty-five percent of them perish in the Adulthood Rite, which is single combat versus a Ghost Cat and fought naked with only one's own body weapons and abilities. The Harem of wives establishes a naturally sociable dynamic of mutual co-operation, greatly assisted by the Z'Ahlouhra, which is the empathic connection shared species-wide by every Selinian, especially among females. Women who are pregnant or with infants/young children are treated with special consideration and courtesy in Selinian culture. The Selinian word for Woman ''translates over as ''Cradle of The Future. There is absolutely no stigma associated with single motherhood or pregnancy out of wedlock as roughly fifteen percent of the population of any generation is typically born to single mothers. Indeed, most couples only marry if a child is conceived, proving that they should. Selinian relationships are durable, deeply-committed and never casual. Because of the Z'Ahlouhra, there's a level of communication between the genders not seen in most species, and a great deal of friction between them is simply eliminated and the emotional bonds go deeper than can be understood by most. Thus rituals such as marriage are secondary in importance and considered entirely optional and is done mainly as a form of one-time celebration. The ceremony is simple and rather short but beautiful and followed by a proper celebration. Selinian females are naturally and innately submissive to males, but this only applies to Selinian males. By Human standards they are extremely aggressive and refuse to be dominated by males outside Selinianity. The reasons for this are based in physiology and survival pressures from the Early Times as well as Natural Selection. Selinians have active and complexly-sophisticated pheromone production abilities with some aspects being gender specific and intended to manipulate the other gender. Males produce pheromones that very strongly influence submissive behaviour in females and females have pheromones meant to strongly influence a male in selecting them and bonding with them emotionally. The other aspects of this originate from the simple fact that in the Early Times, when males were constantly watching for death to come from any angle and at any moment, a woman's submission in unhesitatingly following a command could save her life. Those that didn't have that quality generally ended up being killed off by the ecosystem's predators or hampering a male's efforts at protecting her by being in the area of combat and forcing the male to split his attention-focus on the predator and her safety. This naturally-submissive behaviour by Selinian women is not seen as a sign of their being second-class citizens or the weaker sex. The selinian species survived to the modern era due to cooperation between the genders where the strengths of each compensated for the weaknesses of the other. The only alternative to such was extinction at the teeth and claws of the Homeworld's predators. 'SOCIETY and CULTURE' Selinians have always held to a Meritocratic societal base. In the Early Times practicality/pragmatacism ruled and there was no time or luxury able to be afforded for anything that didn't have a positive effect on continued survival. Because of this, capability and job-performance is paramount and very much an integral element of selinian personal identity as is continuous striving to become better and learn more. As an example, it's not uncommon for a Master craftsman upon learning of another who surpasses his own skill to seek that individual out and request an apprenticeship to further hone and develop his skill and knowledge while still maintaining his own business, then pass on what he's learned to his own juniour workers and craftspeople. This has some surprising benefits, especially in terms of military equipment and vessels, where the designers and shipbuilders are striving to do their absolute best. This can be seen in the BattleCarriers as some of them are centuries old and still as structurally sound as the day they were commissioned. In homes, this is especially important as with Selinian lifespans being over a Millenia, homes must be built to last. In other military terms, the soldiers of the Sovereignty take their careers very seriously as they know they're the only thing between a dangerous universe and their people. The military accepts anyone who's willing to enlist and does all it can to help the soldier become as good a soldier as they can be. Selinian soldiery are extremely capable, competent and skilled with extensive education and instruction with testing in the aspects of war and combat. Selinians are a very violent race, but quite able to control themselves and hold to civilized behaviour. Still, they are the only effective control on their own numbers, and were that not the case the Selinian population would be immense and their population pressure would make them a threat to every other race in the galaxy. 'RELIGION' Selinians have a difficult time understanding religion, and have very little use for it, if any at all. The closest thing to a deity in Selinian culture is the Prime Mother Lyllith, but as she is known to have lived as an undeniable and proven fact, this is more a form of Ancestor Veneration. Some wars with other species in Selinianity's past have been caused by other species attempting to influence Selinianity into following their religions and worshipping their deities and refusing to take No ''for an answer. The prevailing view among Selinianity is that religion and belief/worship of some non-existent deity is proof of seriously delusional thinking or possibly genetic tampering towards making a species easier to control by some self-styled Master race. In any event, Selinians view religion with wariness, caution and distrust it completely. Females especially are put off by it and find it quite disturbing 'CURRENCY and ECONOMY' Selinians prefer physical currency over digital and still utilize it. The key unit is the Sovereignty Trade Marker. This has divisions into ten smaller units (''Cedimers) and can be found in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000 and 10,000 Dimers. Cedimers are found in coin form and Dimers are found in coins and bills. Coinage is accomplished by utilizing an alloy of nickel, steel, vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum. Bills are a mixed weave of natural and synthetic fibres of a very specific blend and the weave is very intricately specialized also to serve as an identifier of being genuine. The designs are accomplished with the weave aligning properly-colored and tinted sections of fibre threads to form them. The synthetic fibres are produced only by one facility on the homeworld using nanotechnological processes involving very specifically made nanotubes which are coded with specific 'sequences' of non-radioactive elements in their cores to serve as additional marks of genuine value. Electronic currency does exist, and is used via credit chip. The chip is slightly larger and thicker than a present-day credit card and completely sealed in nano-assembled polycarbon, black, and mirror-finished. In function it is like a Debit card as the 'credit' system in the Sovereignty sees limited use--debt based economics isn't something the Selinians have a preference for due it's nebulous aspects. The card stores information taken from whatever physical currency has been exchanged to load the card. This makes counterfeiting extremely difficult and risky as one must have authentic identity-verification info from genuine currency to load the card and it's deeply encrypted so as to make using random values impossible as only genuine codes work with the encryption in the exact right manner as the codes in the currency contain part of the encryption algorithms. The Selinian economic base is mainly driven by small businesses and privately-held (often family-owned) companies. Some few large corporations exist, but are the exception rather than the rule, in general smaller companies will come together to handle a large contract as a mutually supportive and beneficial alliance towards a common goal. Contracts are awarded not based upon lowest cost, but highest achievable quality of production goods. The art of the Craftsman is very much alive and well in the Sovereignty, and mass production is accomplished more often by hiring more workers rather than automated machinery and production lines. Machinery does assist a great deal in production, but is not the main element of it. The economy is a free-market model, but is managed and controlled to avoid wild imbalances that could destabilize it. As the Sovereignty is a real-time electronically-enabled democracy, the citizenry know what to expect and have an enormous amount of say in such. Taxation, as it is known in most civilizations, doesn't exist. Selinians are very species-aware and contribute voluntarily to the Sovereignty's government coffers. Again, as there is transparency within the government and full accountability via a real-time electronically-enabled democracy, the citizenry contributes and then decides how the monies are spent based on relevant information. 'GLOSSARY' '''''Ta' Zhakell - (Translated: Personal Weapon) A device worn over the hand and forearm of an individual capable of generating a variety of effects through manipulation of Unified Field Theory and interactive field types. Ch'Yrusk Tea - A flavourful and appealing hot beverage with a high caffeine value and certain naturally-occuring chemicals that promote relaxation without affecting alertness or judgement. Tolerable by Humans, although more than two cups of average-strength tea in a 24 hr period can lead to unfortunate but temporary health issues and more than two within 24 Hrs results in a wildly euphoric state followed by sudden-onset coma and death in Humans. No known ill effects on Selinians no matter how much is ingested. Vhll' Sahge - (Translated: Mealworms) Grubs, very similar to 'mealworms' used to feed certain animals of Earth origin. Served cooked or live, and more flavorful when live. Has a beneficial aspect for most races digestive tracts similar to yogurt in establishing and maintaining healthy intestinal flora and bacterial forms, but only when served and eaten live as cooking destroys this benefit. When served live, flavour is very similar to veal, when cooked the flavor is similar to canned tuna in vegetable broth. Commonly kept in small 'ranches' within the home, easy to raise and care for to maintain a self-perpetuating population. Commonly served with almost any accompanying dish and side dishes as it tends to go with almost anything. Zhast' yl - (Translated: Wine) Selinian wines are at least as numerous as those of Earth. Some however can make Humans ill and a few can prove fatal to Humans as they were produced from Dextro-amino based fruit plant sources. Always check the label for Xenocompatibility before purchase or consumption. Zhnn' Rhagu - Proof positive that every species has it's own version of Swedish Meatballs. This has been on the Selinian menu for almost their entire recorded history. Some variations exist, due to regional differences but in the main it fully upholds the Universal Food theorem. Swedish Meatballs Recipes ''Slhistenn - ''A small fish, quite similar to the Anchovy from Earth. A common staple food typically served at breakfast but common also throughout the day and used in many dishes. Eaten in many different ways. ''Yhss' Lharrha - ''The dominantApex predator found on the Selinian homeworld. Extremely intelligent to a quasi-sentient degree, cunning, devious, large with an array of abilities that make it incredibly dangerous. ''Slsztl' Owoolh -'' (Translated: Tree Snake) A common lifeform in the wilds on many Seliniformed worlds and a common pet, also found feral in cities and towns. possessed of a playful, curious and good-natured temperament they have a personality like a cross between an Earth Housecat and a domesticated Earth Ferret. Somewhat empathic, they are sensitive to the emotional and mental state of many other lifeforms and get along with them also. No natural predators. Humans dislike their appearance intensely. Warm-blooded, egg-laying mammalian. capable of delivering a nasty bite if sufficiently provoked or defending their owner. The venom is similar in many respects to that found coating Selinian tongue darts and is capable of killing almost any known carbon-based lifeform within seconds and the few that survive have extensive and permanent nerve and cardiovascular damage. The animal can choose to deliver a venomous bite or not, but will usually issue a warning bite or two first, each one capable of neatly snipping off a Narn finger easily, the venomous bite is usually an absolute last resort. 'THE SOVEREIGNTY IN BABYLON-5' With a recorded history stretching continuously back over one-hundred and forty-nine Millenia, the Selinians are not a species to be trifled with. Created by unknown beings with exceptional skill and technology regarding genetic engineering, the entire species can be traced to the Prime Mother, Lyllith. Under her two Millenia of tutelage and guidance, Selinianity flourished rapidly, achieving in decades what took naturally evolved species centuries and Millenia to accomplish. It was however not bloodless by any stretch. Between the continual violence and an extremely dangerous ecosystem, Natural selection bore down harshly on the new species winnowing out those unfit for the future. The present-day Sovereignty is composed of dozens of star systems and a good-sized section of the Galaxy. The Sovereignty expands somewhat slowly, but confidently and securely as colonization also means making a star system completely self-sufficient as quickly as possible. There are wholly independent colonies, but as they choose not to accept aid from the Sovereignty, they grow at a slower rate but still rather quickly by most standards. A key difference in the way their space is organized is that owing to advanced navigation systems and sensors, Selinian vessels freely navigate hyperspace without any need for beacons whatsoever. This is accomplished using a Quantum-Gravity Phase Discriminator that can detect the differences between gravity shadows from Realspace objects (like stars, planets and large asteroids) and the gravitational effects and phenomena native to hyperspace thus allowing the vessel to navigate relative to Realspace with exceptional accuracy. Conversely, it also allows accurate monitoring of hyperspace activity from realspace. The Selinian homeworld is referred to as Selinia-Prime by other races, and publicly by the Selinians themselves as the true name is unpronouncable by non-Selinians due to physiological differences in larynx structure--namely most species don't have the larger number of vocal chords nor the additional fine musculature in their laryngeal structure however Pak'Ma'ra manage a passable version. The true name of the Selinian homeworld translates out as; Starside-Rainstone Cradle of Origins. First contact between the Sovereignty and the Interstellar Alliance occurred when the EAS De Soto, an Earth Alliance Explorer-class vessel was detected in hyperspace prior to it's jumping into realspace in an outlying Sovereignty system on their frontier. This attracted the attention of a nearby BattleCarrier on patrol that arrived to investigate, and intercede, if needed. Despite some tense moments, initial contact went as smoothly as either side could have hoped for and the De Soto's Captain was given a cultural database regarding the Sovereignty and Selinianity whereupon both sides agreed to a more formal meeting on Babylon-5. The Diplomatic Meeting at Babylon-5 did not go as smoothly, and almost led to open war once again raging across the Galaxy, but it was exposed that there are powers and interests that would prefer to have the Sovereignty as an enemy of the Interstellar Alliance rather than on friendly terms and a very powerful potential ally. The opening for attempts to manipulate the situation were inadvertantly provided by the Selinian Ambassadorial Envoy herself when she very politely and very unequivocally turned down membership of the Sovereignty in the Interstellar Alliance. Within hours, there was an attempt on the Ambassador's life, that instead nearly killed an attache` which led directly to a stand-off between the Ambassador's ''Sunajzh ''guards and station security when medical staff attempted to reach the injured Attache` and Ambassador to assist them and an attempt against the BattleCarrier that had brought the Ambassador that resulted in slight damage to the vessel--but serious damage to the level of trust between the IA and Sovereignty until the insurgents were rooted out. Over time, it came to light that the Sovereignty was very aware of the last Shadow War and previous ones, and had done as they had always done--kept an eye on things, ready to defend themselves if it came their way but remained out of it. This knowledge outraged most of the IA, with some even demanding Reparations from the Sovereignty for their lack of assistance in the war, citing that because they had chosen not to become involved the death tolls among the younger races was higher than it should have been. This divided the IA Council, and the Ambassadorial Envoy retreated to her suite aboard the BattleCarrier out of disgust with the sentiments and opinions expressed, remaining unavailable to the Council, or any of the IA Ambassadors for a full week in order to let things cool down among them. Things were not much better a week later, when she returned the Sovereignty was demanded to account for itself regarding it's 'negligence'. The resulting discussion lasted twelve full hours, with raised voices among the IA Councillors for most of the time. In the end, the Ambassadorial Envoy said the following; "We've been watching, for centuries. You're petty little squabbles over largely irrelevant concerns, slaughtering each other in war after war. We've seen you, grubbing around the dead worlds of long-vanished races we once knew, raiding their graves for whatever trinkets you think to find that might give you some small edge in destructiveness over whatever enemy is your current one. It took the Shadows and that war to wake you up to a bigger and better galaxy, that you could stand on your own, infants no longer--and here you are, thinking to demand accountability of us? Thinking that we owe you something? We have fought enemy powers in the past that make the Shadows look like a household pest-problem. Ones that had they found you even a week ago would have sundered your worlds and turned every last surviving member of all your arrogant races into the humblest of drones for the rest of eternity, unable to even contemplate freedom. Now, knowing that, we could demand reparations and compensation from all of you, and with credibility. Had we not fought, and died, in those wars you can be fully assured that we would not be on this station having this conversation right now as none of you would be more than living drone-labor enslaved to beings so utterly horrible you will find your sense of security in the universal balance at question by your own self and you will never feel your children are safe ever again. That is what we've been fighting since before any of you realized the stars were more than holes in the curtain of night or even knew how to make fire. Now, if any of you are so inclined, you can try to collect what you feel you are owed by us and find out what our enemies have learned about our competency in battle and war. You're a collection of undisciplined, selfish, childlike, capering savages still clinging to deity-images. You can remain on civilized and pleasant terms with us in the spirit of peaceful discourse and a better future for us all--or you can declare war and end up with matter cannons pointed at your faces, your worlds burning, populations reduced to critical levels and all your infrastructure in ruins, left with a stone-age level of technology and no chance of ever travelling the stars again. This is no petty threat, it is a choice and it is yours. If you're looking for another war, your final war, simply open fire on my BattleCarrier as your declaration. I'll be aboard it and awaiting your decision." The Ambassadorial Envoy's comments did not go unlistened-to, and the IA Council realized that the Galaxy was still a much bigger place than anyone could comprehend, and still had powers to be treated with respect. Shortly after her speech to the IA Council, the Sovereignty claimed a system off the beacon network and in an unintentional display of their technological capability constructed a full-scale military base with orbital yards for ship construction and repair as well as an extensive and very powerful detection-defense grid. The planet had been formerly lifeless, but with a Nitrogen/CO2 atmosphere and was extremely responsive to Seliniforming, and it became known that Selinian technology with regards to constructive pursuits was extremely powerful as the formerly fallow world blossomed with life while projections showed that a full biosphere and ecosystem would be established and self-sustaining in less than five years.